Review by JD on December 22, 2016.

Guitar gods come and go… the true ones live forever... or so it’s said. Enter Jartse Tuominen, a Finnish guitarist that melds prog rock, rock, metal, blues and jazz into one. Is this the next guitar god? We are going to find out.

Born in Tampere Finland, Jartse Tuominen has been in many projects including a metal act called Outburst in the 90’s, as well as jazz projects. With five solo albums as well and being involved with other projects as a composer, producer and guest musician, as an artist who played at the Salt Lake Olympics - he is respected and admired around the world.

Complex jazz compositions with shading of the blues that seamlessly end up coupling with the attack of pure metal at times… that is exactly what we have here on the Untold Stories. Musically strong, the album holds many amazing moments that showcase the wide breath of Jartse Tuominen's talent. I found myself as a long time musician, carried away on the many moods and strengths of the music here. Most might find it not to their liking, but as a instrumental album, some do and some don't.

Untold Stories is strong and very eye opening for all who are looking for that challenging album, but most might pass on it. As a musician's album - you cannot get any better than what was offered right here. It's all in how you frame this remarkable man's music in the end. I was pleasantly surprised and I believe he might win over some hard ass metalheads as well. It is not a full metal album, but it has the elements that most metal musicians will see and enjoy.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10